Our Natural Resources

Brookhaven’s 5,321-acre campus is located in Long Island’s Central Pine Barrens region and within the
watershed of one of Long Island’s four major rivers, the Peconic River, which has been designated under New
York State’s Wild, Scenic, and Recreational Rivers Act.

The Pine Barrens are a unique ecosystem dominated by
groundcover, shrub thickets, a variety of oaks and pitch
pine trees which grow in sandy, acidic, and infertile dry
upland soils. The Pine Barrens also contain a diverse range
of wetland communities such as marshes, coastal plain ponds,
bogs, and river corridors.

Often described as Long Island’s last remaining
wilderness and one of the Northeast’s greatest natural
treasures, the Central Pine Barrens covers more than 100,000
acres of public and privately-owned land in Suffolk County.

Long Island Pine Barrens

The Lab’s campus constitutes five
percent of Long Island’s total 100,000-acre Central Pine Barrens
preserve. With its gently rolling topography and its sandy soil,
the Lab’s soils are mostly well drained, with the exception of
six regulated wetlands and various seasonal ponds. The former
home of an oak and chestnut forest that was cut and cleared for
the construction of Camp Upton in 1917, the vegetation is in
various stages of succession, and the remaining forested land
now contains scrub oak and pitch pine native to the pine
barrens, as well as some non-native trees planted by the
Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression.

Since
1993, the Pine Barrens have been protected by the New York
State’s Long Island Pine Barrens Protection Act. The goal of the
Act is to protect the land and its associated flora and fauna,
wetlands, and surface water and groundwater which is the
drinking-water supply for nearly 2 million people in Nassau and
Suffolk Counties.

Under the Lab’s Natural Resource Management
Program, the Lab works to monitor and protect the site’s flora
and fauna, and to assess the impact, if any, of the site’s past
or present operations.

Wildlife

The undeveloped woodlands, grasslands, and wetland habitats
found at the Lab site support some 230 plant species, including
two species classified as threatened and two that are rare
according to New York State, 15 animal species, and
approximately 85 species of birds have been observed nesting on
site. Because of its location within the Atlantic Flyway, more
than 200 transitory bird species have been documented as
visiting the site.

In the Peconic River environs some 10 species of fish have
been identified as endemic to the site including the banded
sunfish and the swamp darter, both of which are threatened in
New York State. Other wetlands on site, including marshes,
ponds, and retention basins, have been found to host 13
amphibian and 12 reptile species. Ecological studies have
confirmed 26 breeding locations on site for the New York State
endangered eastern tiger salamander.

The Laboratory actively monitors and manages the populations
of several species including the resident Canada goose
population, wild turkey, and white-tailed deer. The geese are
managed to help ensure that they do not reach numbers that would
cause safety and health concerns. The population of wild turkeys
on site appears to have stabilized in recent years at
approximately 300 birds. Since 2009, a 5-day hunt has been held
in Suffolk County with little or no evidence of effect on the
BNL turkey population. The Lab conducts annual population
surveys of white-tailed deer. In a 2012 fall survey, it was
estimated that there were more than 600 deer on site. High deer
populations are a regional problem. The Laboratory has developed
a management plan to address the issue.

Upton Ecological and Research Reserve

Toward ensuring the sustainability of the plants and animals
that make their home in the Long Island Central Pine Barrens,
the U.S. Department of Energy permanently set aside 530 acres at
BNL, which is some ten percent of the Lab’s land. Established in
2000 as the Upton Ecological and Research Reserve, this acreage
is located on the Lab’s eastern boundary and encompasses acreage
within the Long Island Pine Barrens’ core preservation area and
along the Peconic River corridor.

Overseen by the Foundation for Ecological Research in the
Northeast, or FERN since 2005, the Upton Reserve is managed for
its key ecological values and as an area for ecological
research. Ecological and wildlife research is conducted to
assist in understanding how the natural environment works. The
information gained from these projects is used to make
management decisions at the Laboratory. Many of the projects
are conducted with the assistance of interns, including high
school and undergraduate students.

Peconic River

The Peconic River headwaters are located
just west of the Laboratory. This 15-mile long river flows from
west to east traveling through the Lab and serves as the
dividing line between several towns -- Brookhaven, Riverhead,
and Southampton -- before emptying into Flanders Bay.

The
groundwater-fed, naturally acidic, nutrient-poor river is
recreational resource that is enjoyed by anglers, paddlers, and
nature photographers alike, and it provides an inviting and
successful habitat for wildlife both on site and off.

One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical,
biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security.
Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry
and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE's Office of Science by Brookhaven
Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by the Research Foundation for the State
University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory
facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit applied science and technology organization.